The news has sunk in that Joe Flacco will no longer be a member of the Cleveland Browns. In just six weeks of being our guy, Flacco gave us memories that will last a lifetime.
It is still mind-boggling to think back to what all transpired in the fall. The Browns called Flacco off of his couch, worked him out in the facility, signed him to a minimum contract, flew him out to Denver and he was starting the following week in Los Angeles.
From there he led the Browns on a four-game win streak, clinched a playoff birth and took the Browns down to Houston where things just didn't go our way. Sometimes that happens in the NFL, but for that month and a half, he had us on top of the football world.
There are so many to choose from, but here are my Top-5 Joe Flacco Plays.
5. Joe Flacco to Jerome Ford: 24-Yard Touchdown vs. Rams
You never forget the first. This first touchdown pass to Jerome Ford capped off a nearly perfect drive where Flacco led the team down the field. He completed a 3rd and 14 pass to Amari Cooper that had everyone's jaw on the ground. I personally was there to witness it and seeing it happen live was one of the more surreal football moments I've had. At this point, Flacco had us believing that he could be something.
4. Joe Flacco to David Njoku: 39-Yard Touchdown vs Jaguars
The Browns came home off of a tough road trip needing a win in Flacco's first game as a Brown in Cleveland Browns Stadium. He couldn't have got things started better as again on the first drive, he waltzed the Browns down the field and on a third-and-one, buried a play fake and found a wide-open David Njoku for an opening touchdown. The city of Cleveland shook as Njoku leaped into the endzone.
3. Joe Flacco to Amari Cooper: 75-Yard Touchdown vs Texans
At this point, Flacco Fever had taken over all of Cleveland and we were loving every second of it. A record-setting day for Amari Cooper wouldn't soothe any of our symptoms. That day included a 75-yard bomb from Flacco to Cooper. With the flick of his wrist, Flacco sent a ball 65 yards in the air into the waiting arms of Cooper. He caught it and waltzed into the endzone beginning the Browns' Christmas Eve rout of the Texans.
2. Joe Flacco to Jerome Ford: 51-Yard Touchdown vs Jets
Cleveland was on the cusp of clinching a playoff birth at home on Thursday Night Football in front of the entire nation. That Thursday felt like a religious experience in the city and it was capped off by a legendary three-touchdown performance by Flacco. Flacco threw for nearly 300 first-half yards and one huge completion came to Jerome Ford who found himself with no one around and the goalline in site. He pushed into the endzone and again, Browns stadium shook.
1. Joe Flacco to Amari Cooper: 52 Yard Touchdown vs Bears
In a must-win game, Flacco came out and was playing his worst. It felt like the magic ran out on the Cinderella story and he was turning back into a pumpkin. That was until the 4th quarter when he led a storybook comeback. Included in that comeback was one of the gutsiest, best throws you will ever see on a football field. Flacco fit a pass in between three defenders into Cooper's arms and while the defenders all collided, Cooper had nowhere else to go but the endzone.
Flacco gave Cleveland fans a lifetime's worth of memories in just six short weeks. We knew it was only a short-term situation but man, it was fun while it lasted.
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